Romans 8:22-27 (Epistle)
22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.
23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.
24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?
25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
Matthew 10:23-31 (Gospel)
23 When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
24 A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.
25 It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household!
26 Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.
27 Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops.
28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.
30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31 Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Saint David of Thessaloniki
Saint David of Thessalonica pursued asceticism at the monastery of the holy Martyrs Theodore and Mercurius. Inspired by the example of the holy stylites, he lived in an almond tree in constant prayer, keeping strict fast, and enduring heat and cold. He remained there for three years until an angel told him to come down.
Saint David received from God the gift of wonderworking, and he healed many from sickness. The holy ascetic gave spiritual counsel to all who came to him. Having attained to passionlessness, he was like an angel in the flesh, and he was able to take hot coals into his hands without harm. He died the year 540.
John, the ‘doer’ of the word
Sophia Bekri, Theologian
‘The rays of the new grace shone brightly today at your birthday’ sings the hymnographer in the canon of the feast of the glorious and honorable Forerunner. Indeed, the whole Church gladly participates in this, because the ‘joyful birthday’ of the saint ‘reveals the future joy and exultation and therefore the whole of creation rejoices’.
So the birth of the Forerunner is a harbinger of the birth of ‘the future joy’ for the world. His own coming into the world, which ‘lightened the dawn of Christ’ was a precursor of ‘the new grace’.
Indeed, John is the lamp of the light, the Morning Star of the spiritual Sun, the bright star that dispels the pall of delusion and the darkness, and opens the path to the truth of Christ. John is, in fact, called the ‘star of stars’ (doxastiko, Lauds), since his brightness outshines the light from all the other stars. He’s the most lambent star who lights the way for the dawning of the ‘Dayspring from on high’.
It would therefore have been impossible for our Church not to accord special honor to the birth of him through whom the coming of the Savior was foretold to the world (Dismissal Hymn of the Saint). Nor would it have been possible for the mouths of the evangelists and hymnographers not to emphasize the many wonderous events which took place at the birth of the Forerunner, which, indeed, invite comparison with similar ones at the nativity of Christ.
‘Oh, strange wonder’. One of the many wondrous events took place when Zachariah was praying in the temple and addressing to God his supplication for the salvation of all the people. An angel of the Lord appeared and told him that his prayer had been heard and that Elizabeth would give birth to a son, as if the birth of John was to be the salvation of the world, which is what Zachariah had been praying for at that moment. And wouldn’t John become the preacher of the salvation that would come to the world through Christ the Savior?
And we can see other correlations between the births of the two. Christ was born of the Virgin Mary, John of barren Elizabeth. The name ‘Jesus’, was given by the angel Gabriel, ‘before he was conceived in the womb (Luke 2, 21). In the same way, the name ‘John’, meaning ‘God’s grace’, was also foretold (Luke 1, 32). Zachariah was also told that his son would ‘be great before the Lord’ (Luke 1, 15). At the birth of Christ, the angel Gabriel didn’t announce only ‘Hail’, to the future Mother of God, but he also passed on to the shepherds and to all others the ‘tidings of great joy, which is for all the people, that the savior was born’ (Luke, 2, 10-11). By the same token, at the birth of John, the angel said to Zachariah: ‘And he will be a joy and delight to you. and many will rejoice because of his birth’. At the birth of Christ the angels hymned the most high God (‘Glory to God in the highest…’); at the birth of John people wondered: ‘What then is this child going to be?’.
And the most miraculous thing of all: the meeting of the two, the Forerunner and Christ, in the womb of their mothers before they were even born. When Elizabeth and Mary embraced, ‘the child leapt in the womb of Elizabeth’, as if the disciple was recognizing his Teacher, ‘the servant’ his ‘Master’. You see, John had the gift of foresight from the time of his gestation, since ‘he was filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb’ (Luke 1, 15). And he was able to transfer his grace to his mother, enabling her to call Mary ‘the mother of the Lord’: ‘blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb; but why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?’ (Luke 1, 43). How else would Elizabeth recognize Mary as the mother of the Lord, if not through her son, John, who was holy ‘even from his mother’s womb’. (Of course, this particular passage is the most powerful proof of the view of our Church concerning life from the moment of conception).
From all the above, then, it’s clear that John proved to be ‘great in the Lord’ (Luke 1, 14), that is that he developed all the virtues to the highest degree and therefore pleased the Lord, who would later confess with admiration: ‘no-one has arisen among those born of women who is greater than John the Baptist’ (Matth. 11, 11). It should be noted that John is the only person about whom the Lord spoke in such terms, and he did so before the Church as a whole honored him as ‘superior’ to all the saints.
And yet, John became great not only because it was God’s will, nor only because his parents were devout, blameless and righteous (Luke 1, 6), but mainly because he himself chose to live ‘a sober, godly and upright life’ (Titus 2, 12). In fact, John is the epitome of the triptych of the Christian life: he observed the true faith, without deviating from it; he lived a moral life; and he acted honorably and righteously. Indeed, he was so righteous that he wanted, through his preaching, to put not only the ordinary citizens on the strait and narrow path but also the leaders of his time, chastising them for their impiety and immoral life-style. In the end, this cost him his life.
So, since most Christians today are only hearers of the word of the Lord rather than doers of it (James1, 22), it’s time for us to learn from John’s example and to apply the word in all aspects of our life. We must keep the true faith intact, given that it’s under attack on all sides; we must live morally and virtuously, despite the many and varied challenges and provocations; and we must conduct ourselves with love, sagacity and righteousness. And, above all we must unite and work together to combat every movement aimed at dividing and deluding us.
This is the only way that we, like the Forerunner and all the saints, can live ‘a sober, godly and upright life’. To this end, let us pray to the Lord to grant us his abundant grace and boundless mercy, through the intercessions of Saint John. Amen.
This week’s calendar reminders:
Monday 6/23: Matins 8:30 a.m.
Tuesday 6/24: no services or events
Wednesday 6/25: no services or events
Thursday 6/26: Matins 8:30 a.m.; Men’s Group 7 p.m.
Friday 6/27: Matins 8:30 a.m.
Saturday 6/28: Catechumen Class 4:30 p.m.; Memorial Service 5:30 p.m.; Great Vespers 6 p.m.
Sunday 6/29: Hours & Divine Liturgy 9:15 a.m.; Feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul
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Christ the Savior Orthodox Church is located in Southbury, Connecticut, and is part of the New England Diocese of the Orthodox Church of America.
Mailing address: Christ the Savior Church, 1070 Roxbury Road, Southbury, CT 06488
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Fr. Moses Locke can be reached at frmoseslocke@gmail.com